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You can legally leave your assets to the cats if you want to.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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You can leave your money to anyone you want. If there is no Will though, the State determines who inherits and Step-children are jot included. Only children of the person who passed. If there is a Spouse, they usually get the larger percentage of the assets. The children the smaller % split between how many blood children there are.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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Wills can be written to explain why one child got more than the other or nothing at all. It can even be worded that if anyone contests the Will, they get nothing.

IMO each parent takes care of their own in a Will.
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Reply to JoAnn29
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If you are a blended family it makes wills and trusts a bit more complicated. I would see a good Trust and Estate attorney in your own state to arrange a will. They not only have the knowledge but the expertise and that's what you are paying for and what you need. The opinions of a bunch of strangers on a Forum don't work when there are legal issues afoot, and things you cannot afford to do wrong.

Best of luck to you.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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Have a will or a trust? If not, go to an attorney and make one. You can leave your $$ to whomever you want to.
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Reply to MeDolly
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Rubyblackman54, welcome to the forum. You can do whatever you want when it comes to distributing your assets once you are gone. You can even give it all to the charity of your choice.


Just thinking out loud here, it probably would be best to divide the assets equity, so that one grown child doesn't challenge the Will. I remember when one of my Aunts challenged my grandparents Will, it tied up Probate for many years. That Aunt actually got less than what she would have gotten originally as Attorney fees kept climbing, plus the estate had to file income taxes during each of those Probate years as there was income coming in from stocks, etc.
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Reply to freqflyer
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If you work with an elder law or estate planning attorney you can make a solid Last Will & Testament and do whatever you please in it, and if you appoint a trustworthy and willing Executor of that Will, your wishes will be carried out as you specified.

If you don't leave a Will... that's unwise -- even if you don't think you have many assets to leave.

Here's what happens in my home state if you don't leave a Will and there's a step-children situation:

"In Minnesota, if a step-parent passes away without a will, the state's intestate succession laws come into play. These laws typically allocate the deceased's assets to the surviving spouse and biological children, leaving step-children without automatic inheritance rights."

Source: https://johnsonturner.com/blog/estate-planning/05/step-children-and-inheritance-rights/#:~:text=In%20Minnesota%2C%20if%20a%20step,children%20without%20automatic%20inheritance%20rights.

But rules can vary by state so I would research it in your own home state.
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Reply to Geaton777
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You need to talk to a North Carolina estate attorney. The estate attorney can advise you. This will vary by state. I'd also make a will.
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Reply to brandee
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